ČSA Flight 523
 A ČSA Il-18V similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 September 1967 |
| Summary | Failure to climb for undetermined reason, striking obstructions and impacting the ground |
| Site | Gander Airport, Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 48°56′32.45″N 54°32′2.03″W / 48.9423472°N 54.5338972°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Ilyushin Il-18D |
| Operator | ČSA (Československé Státní Aerolinie) |
| Registration | OK-WAI |
| Flight origin | Praha-Ruzyne International Airport (PRG/LKPR), Czechoslovakia |
| 1st stopover | Shannon Airport (SNN/EINN), Ireland |
| Last stopover | Gander Airport (YQX/CYQX), Gander, Canada |
| Destination | Havana-José Martí International Airport (HAV/MUHA), Cuba |
| Occupants | 69 |
| Passengers | 61 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 35 |
| Survivors | 34 |
ČSA Flight 523, operated by an Ilyushin Il-18D, was a scheduled flight from Prague Ruzyně International Airport (PRG/LKPR), Czechoslovakia to Havana via Shannon Airport and Gander International Airport, with 69 people on board, on 5 September 1967 it crashed on climb-out from Gander.
Crash
On 5 September 1967, ČSA Flight 523 crashed on climb-out from Gander International Airport, after being re-fuelled for the final leg of the flight.[1] The aircraft took off from runway 14 climbing at an abnormally shallow angle. The aircraft struck a supporting wire of a mast,[1] climbed to 40 m (130 ft), then started to dive, hitting the ground at a speed of approximately 360 km/h (220 mph; 190 kn), hit a railway embankment 4,000 ft (1,200 m) past the end of the runway, caught fire and broke into pieces.[2] Four crewmen and 33 passengers were killed.[1] The aircraft was new, manufactured in April 1967, having flown only 766 hours. The crew, replaced by a fresh one in Gander, consisted of a captain with over 17,000 hours experience (over 5,000 on the Il-18), familiar with the airport as he had been flying there since 1962, and a co-pilot with over 10,000 hours experience.[2]
Investigation
The investigation of the incident started immediately; Czechoslovak and Soviet experts, including Genrikh Novozhilov from Ilyushin and the Czech World War II fighter pilot František Fajtl, also took part in it. Several possibilities were discussed but the cause of the accident was never determined.[2]
Memorials
As the accident occurred during Expo 67 in Montreal, the Czechoslovakian government afterwards donated its Expo pavilion to the government of Newfoundland as a gesture of gratitude for rescue efforts following the crash. The pavilion was moved to Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, where it was opened in 1971. It remains in use as the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts.[3]
In 2015 a memorial plaque was unveiled in Gander to honour the crash victims.[4]
References
- ^ a b c Accident description for OK-WAI at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Seriál: Letadlo ČSA havarovalo půl minuty po vzletu. Dodnes se neví proč" [Series: A CSA plane crashed half a minute after takeoff. It is still unknown why]. iDNES.cz (in Czech). 2012-09-26. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- ^ "History". Arts and Culture Centre. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ Cook, Julia (2015-06-29). "1967 Czech airline crash in Gander remembered with new monument". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-10-07.